The Student Room Group

10 years since I dropped out, looking at applying to university again?

Hi, so, I'm considering going back to university. It's ten years since I dropped out for personal/medical reasons, and I've just entered my thirties (although most people still guess I'm around the 24-25 mark), so I'd definitely be applying as a mature student.

I'm looking for some advice on applying in my situation. I actually achieved good A-level grades of AAA first time around, so I'm wondering if that means I should be able to make a pretty standard application, not even worrying too much about the mature student part?

My GCSEs were pretty mixed though, I did get some As but got a B in English and a C in Mathematics. The C in Mathematics is a bit of a sticking point in some requirements because with my A-levels I should be able to get into some really good universities otherwise. Could being a mature student help here? Ironically my mental arithmetic is ridiculously good but I can't really go quoting IQ tests on my application, hah.

I haven't yet settled on a course, I was thinking of looking at the Politics route as I might enjoy it and meet the requirements, but it seems like a degree that would only have good prospects if I went to a top university. Some options are out due to my A-level choices and I'm guessing the extra time since won't help there. Some the GCSE Mathematics may be an issue.

I guess I'm wondering if the fact I'm a mature student will help or hinder me in any application, and if I should approach the universities to ask, or just apply and hope for the best as in any standard application.
Original post by waterflare
Hi, so, I'm considering going back to university. It's ten years since I dropped out for personal/medical reasons, and I've just entered my thirties (although most people still guess I'm around the 24-25 mark), so I'd definitely be applying as a mature student.

I'm looking for some advice on applying in my situation. I actually achieved good A-level grades of AAA first time around, so I'm wondering if that means I should be able to make a pretty standard application, not even worrying too much about the mature student part?

My GCSEs were pretty mixed though, I did get some As but got a B in English and a C in Mathematics. The C in Mathematics is a bit of a sticking point in some requirements because with my A-levels I should be able to get into some really good universities otherwise. Could being a mature student help here? Ironically my mental arithmetic is ridiculously good but I can't really go quoting IQ tests on my application, hah.

I haven't yet settled on a course, I was thinking of looking at the Politics route as I might enjoy it and meet the requirements, but it seems like a degree that would only have good prospects if I went to a top university. Some options are out due to my A-level choices and I'm guessing the extra time since won't help there. Some the GCSE Mathematics may be an issue.

I guess I'm wondering if the fact I'm a mature student will help or hinder me in any application, and if I should approach the universities to ask, or just apply and hope for the best as in any standard application.

Hey @waterflare :biggrin: It's great that you want to get back in to studying now!

Based on what you've said I think it's a good idea to approach the universities to ask how they would view your application. From what I understand is the case (at Strathclyde) you'd likely need to undertake some form of preparatory study to prepare you for coming back in to 'study mode' as it were as you've been out of education for a while. I'm not sure if other universities may accept your A Levels as they are so the best way to find out is ask around and see what would be expected of you :smile: Search for 'Mature Students' on websites and on course pages/prospectuses to try and find out the best route for you. Email admissions teams and give details of all your qualifications and what you've been doing since so they have a full view of you as an applicant :smile:

I don't think being a mature student should hinder you - it only would if you let it!

Good luck with it!
- Caitlin :h:
Official University of Strathclyde Rep
Original post by waterflare
Hi, so, I'm considering going back to university. It's ten years since I dropped out for personal/medical reasons, and I've just entered my thirties (although most people still guess I'm around the 24-25 mark), so I'd definitely be applying as a mature student.

I'm looking for some advice on applying in my situation. I actually achieved good A-level grades of AAA first time around, so I'm wondering if that means I should be able to make a pretty standard application, not even worrying too much about the mature student part?

My GCSEs were pretty mixed though, I did get some As but got a B in English and a C in Mathematics. The C in Mathematics is a bit of a sticking point in some requirements because with my A-levels I should be able to get into some really good universities otherwise. Could being a mature student help here? Ironically my mental arithmetic is ridiculously good but I can't really go quoting IQ tests on my application, hah.

I haven't yet settled on a course, I was thinking of looking at the Politics route as I might enjoy it and meet the requirements, but it seems like a degree that would only have good prospects if I went to a top university. Some options are out due to my A-level choices and I'm guessing the extra time since won't help there. Some the GCSE Mathematics may be an issue.

I guess I'm wondering if the fact I'm a mature student will help or hinder me in any application, and if I should approach the universities to ask, or just apply and hope for the best as in any standard application.

Hi, thanks for posting - I think a lot of other people will be in a similar position. For Cambridge, as for Strathclyde, we'd really want to see some more recent study than your original A levels. Popular options for this include A levels, access course, the OU or a course through a university's continuing education department. You GCSEs would not be a concern for us - they were taken a while ago and none of the courses at Cambridge have any GCSE requirements.

Taking new qualifications also means that you're not limited by what you studied in the past - you can choose which direction you want to go in. I would advise you to have a good thing about your interests and motivations, decide on a subject area and then start researching courses that would qualify you to apply.
Reply 3
Original post by University of Strathclyde
Hey @waterflare :biggrin: It's great that you want to get back in to studying now!

Based on what you've said I think it's a good idea to approach the universities to ask how they would view your application. From what I understand is the case (at Strathclyde) you'd likely need to undertake some form of preparatory study to prepare you for coming back in to 'study mode' as it were as you've been out of education for a while. I'm not sure if other universities may accept your A Levels as they are so the best way to find out is ask around and see what would be expected of you :smile: Search for 'Mature Students' on websites and on course pages/prospectuses to try and find out the best route for you. Email admissions teams and give details of all your qualifications and what you've been doing since so they have a full view of you as an applicant :smile:

I don't think being a mature student should hinder you - it only would if you let it!

Good luck with it!
- Caitlin :h:
Official University of Strathclyde Rep

Original post by St Edmund's Admission
Hi, thanks for posting - I think a lot of other people will be in a similar position. For Cambridge, as for Strathclyde, we'd really want to see some more recent study than your original A levels. Popular options for this include A levels, access course, the OU or a course through a university's continuing education department. You GCSEs would not be a concern for us - they were taken a while ago and none of the courses at Cambridge have any GCSE requirements.

Taking new qualifications also means that you're not limited by what you studied in the past - you can choose which direction you want to go in. I would advise you to have a good thing about your interests and motivations, decide on a subject area and then start researching courses that would qualify you to apply.


Hi, thanks for your replies!

It seems from your comments that I may have some difficulty using my grades from some time ago, even though they meet the requirements at face value. I'm certainly not against going down some sort of access route, but from initial reading it's really confusing in trying to figure out what would and would not be accepted.

It seems in Scotland, for example, there's courses run by universities such as Edinburgh, one I had looked at, which are affordable, but if they are in-person courses then without full student finance for such courses it doesn't seem viable to study outside of my home city, which only has Access to HE diplomas taught at a college, or alternatively the distance learning options.

I feel like to put potentially a year in to an access course to show I can still study, I would reasonably want to have some certainty that I'd be getting a degree spot at the end of it (not an actual offer, of course, but some sort of reassurance it would give me an acceptable qualification). After all, it's a one-year delay (when I'm already a decade behind!) that might well just be disregarded anyway. But are universities, ones toward the top of the league table (let's say top 20 universities), going to really give reassurances that if I complete some sort of diploma I'd be in a good position to get an offer?

It seems I need to contact universities to ask them about my specific circumstances, but I'm a little bit worried about irritating admissions officers because essentially I'm needing to figure out, with their confirmation, which courses would actually be suitable and if I can apply while I'm in the middle of them and be accepted, the same way an A-level student might be. (As I'd need to start next year now, and apply next year, while doing the course.) I can't see how else I can get my head around this, because it'd be foolish to enrol on a course that might not leave me any better off in a year's time.

Any more advice you can offer on finding appropriate courses that a university would accept are welcome. Or any services it might be wise for me to access for advice on this, because it seems like it would be really easy to make the wrong decision.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by waterflare
Hi, thanks for your replies!

It seems from your comments that I may have some difficulty using my grades from some time ago, even though they meet the requirements at face value. I'm certainly not against going down some sort of access route, but from initial reading it's really confusing in trying to figure out what would and would not be accepted.

It seems in Scotland, for example, there's courses run by universities such as Edinburgh, one I had looked at, which are affordable, but if they are in-person courses then without full student finance for such courses it doesn't seem viable to study outside of my home city, which only has Access to HE diplomas taught at a college, or alternatively the distance learning options.

I feel like to put potentially a year in to an access course to show I can still study, I would reasonably want to have some certainty that I'd be getting a degree spot at the end of it (not an actual offer, of course, but some sort of reassurance it would give me an acceptable qualification). After all, it's a one-year delay (when I'm already a decade behind!) that might well just be disregarded anyway. But are universities, ones toward the top of the league table (let's say top 20 universities), going to really give reassurances that if I complete some sort of diploma I'd be in a good position to get an offer?

It seems I need to contact universities to ask them about my specific circumstances, but I'm a little bit worried about irritating admissions officers because essentially I'm needing to figure out, with their confirmation, which courses would actually be suitable and if I can apply while I'm in the middle of them and be accepted, the same way an A-level student might be. (As I'd need to start next year now, and apply next year, while doing the course.) I can't see how else I can get my head around this, because it'd be foolish to enrol on a course that might not leave me any better off in a year's time.

Any more advice you can offer on finding appropriate courses that a university would accept are welcome. Or any services it might be wise for me to access for advice on this, because it seems like it would be really easy to make the wrong decision.


Thanks for getting back to me, I'd be happy to help.

Yes, you will need to demonstrate recent attainment at the level required and in relevant subjects.

For politics and related courses (History, Law, Sociology etc.) then a general access to HE in Social Sciences or Humanities can be great preparation. Our typical offer for these courses would be 45 level 3 credits at Distinction. you might find this page on our website useful as well as our guidance on the qualifications we accept. Cambridge has 3 colleges which only admit mature students and a significant number of students progress to arts, social sciences or humanities (and psychology) at Cambridge from Access courses although it should be noted that an access course on its own is not sufficient for our science courses. The 3 mature colleges (St Edmund's, Wolfson and Hughes Hall) even have a later application deadline of 1st March for many of these courses - this is specifically designed for students on access courses or similar 1-year programmes who would only just have begun them by the typical 15th October deadline.

Other options include a CertHE (equivalent to the first year of a university course) but note that you can't transfer credit from other institutions to Cambridge and you'd have to start our course from the beginning, but student finance rules may allow you to do a one-year CertHE and then a 3 year degree - check with Student Finance to be certain. You can study a CertHE with one provider (a foundation year or an Open University course) or build up to 120 level 4 credits from several courses from different providers.
Degree in politics is garbage as is, zero prospects. Especially, for someone in their mid 30'. If it is just a hobby, maybe just get a degree curriculum and reading list and find yourself an online group.
Original post by ElderlyMedic
Degree in politics is garbage as is, zero prospects. Especially, for someone in their mid 30'. If it is just a hobby, maybe just get a degree curriculum and reading list and find yourself an online group.


Thank you for your useful input, your contribution is appreciated.
Reply 7
Original post by St Edmund's Admission
Thanks for getting back to me, I'd be happy to help.

Yes, you will need to demonstrate recent attainment at the level required and in relevant subjects.

For politics and related courses (History, Law, Sociology etc.) then a general access to HE in Social Sciences or Humanities can be great preparation. Our typical offer for these courses would be 45 level 3 credits at Distinction. you might find this page on our website useful as well as our guidance on the qualifications we accept. Cambridge has 3 colleges which only admit mature students and a significant number of students progress to arts, social sciences or humanities (and psychology) at Cambridge from Access courses although it should be noted that an access course on its own is not sufficient for our science courses. The 3 mature colleges (St Edmund's, Wolfson and Hughes Hall) even have a later application deadline of 1st March for many of these courses - this is specifically designed for students on access courses or similar 1-year programmes who would only just have begun them by the typical 15th October deadline.

Other options include a CertHE (equivalent to the first year of a university course) but note that you can't transfer credit from other institutions to Cambridge and you'd have to start our course from the beginning, but student finance rules may allow you to do a one-year CertHE and then a 3 year degree - check with Student Finance to be certain. You can study a CertHE with one provider (a foundation year or an Open University course) or build up to 120 level 4 credits from several courses from different providers.


Thank you for the additional information and consideration. I didn't know about the differing deadlines - for the avoidance of doubt, is the course in question one of those with the 1st March deadline?
Original post by ElderlyMedic
Degree in politics is garbage as is, zero prospects. Especially, for someone in their mid 30'. If it is just a hobby, maybe just get a degree curriculum and reading list and find yourself an online group.

Your account or should I say accounts have zero prospects. Watch this space, ban incoming.
Original post by waterflare
Thank you for the additional information and consideration. I didn't know about the differing deadlines - for the avoidance of doubt, is the course in question one of those with the 1st March deadline?


We don't have a pure politics course if that's what you mean, but both Human, Social and Political Sciences and History and Politics have 1st March deadlines.
Reply 10
Original post by St Edmund's Admission
We don't have a pure politics course if that's what you mean, but both Human, Social and Political Sciences and History and Politics have 1st March deadlines.

Alright, thanks. One more question for now, if that's OK - is any weight put into where or how the Access to HE course is studied, by which I mean, would a distance-learning option (such as Learndirect) be as suitable as a course studied at a local college? I ask this as I seem to have few options that are not distance-taught in my current location.

I'm certainly planning to explore the Access to HE option more though, as it does seem like the best route available to me at this juncture.
Original post by waterflare
Alright, thanks. One more question for now, if that's OK - is any weight put into where or how the Access to HE course is studied, by which I mean, would a distance-learning option (such as Learndirect) be as suitable as a course studied at a local college? I ask this as I seem to have few options that are not distance-taught in my current location.

I'm certainly planning to explore the Access to HE option more though, as it does seem like the best route available to me at this juncture.


That's a very good question and you're right to ask it. There won't be much if any emphasis placed on that but my experience is that candidates often do better, have better support and are more likely to complete the course when studying in person. Another factor might be how much of the grade is coursework vs exams - we would want to some grades awarded from exams.
Original post by waterflare
Alright, thanks. One more question for now, if that's OK - is any weight put into where or how the Access to HE course is studied, by which I mean, would a distance-learning option (such as Learndirect) be as suitable as a course studied at a local college? I ask this as I seem to have few options that are not distance-taught in my current location.

I'm certainly planning to explore the Access to HE option more though, as it does seem like the best route available to me at this juncture.

hi you could look into applying for the cambridge foundation year in arts, humanities, and social sciences which is a gateway course to many undergrad courses at cambridge. there are certain criteria you have to meet though, and only some colleges offer it. (I believe 1 or 2 are mature colleges so might work!)
Original post by waterflare
Hi, so, I'm considering going back to university. It's ten years since I dropped out for personal/medical reasons, and I've just entered my thirties (although most people still guess I'm around the 24-25 mark), so I'd definitely be applying as a mature student.

I'm looking for some advice on applying in my situation. I actually achieved good A-level grades of AAA first time around, so I'm wondering if that means I should be able to make a pretty standard application, not even worrying too much about the mature student part?

My GCSEs were pretty mixed though, I did get some As but got a B in English and a C in Mathematics. The C in Mathematics is a bit of a sticking point in some requirements because with my A-levels I should be able to get into some really good universities otherwise. Could being a mature student help here? Ironically my mental arithmetic is ridiculously good but I can't really go quoting IQ tests on my application, hah.

I haven't yet settled on a course, I was thinking of looking at the Politics route as I might enjoy it and meet the requirements, but it seems like a degree that would only have good prospects if I went to a top university. Some options are out due to my A-level choices and I'm guessing the extra time since won't help there. Some the GCSE Mathematics may be an issue.

I guess I'm wondering if the fact I'm a mature student will help or hinder me in any application, and if I should approach the universities to ask, or just apply and hope for the best as in any standard application.

I was in a similar boat and when I did some research essentially discovered that despite having the perfect set of A-Levels and even a semi-relevant degree it was all obtained too long ago to be considered (I’m 28 so its not even all THAT long ago…). I’ve had to undertake an Access to HE course which i’ve done online and in my own time with Distancelearningcentre.com and it was actually really useful to have the personal statement guidance help and my tutor wrote me an academic reference. So far I have one offer and a few upcoming interviews so it has paid off.

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